Loki's Chance
by EEBinx
Summary: A little twist of fate on the night The Avengers find Loki at the exhibit. He escapes with a woman in tow who apparently wants to save him from himself.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Just trying my hand at a little *Loki love* This is just a little One Shot scenario from The Avengers that I had in my head (although I'm basing the party in New York instead of Germany).**

**For those following my story A Turn of Events, I beg a little more patience; I'm hoping for the next chapter to be up by the end of this week.**

**Please review, don't flame *Binx =^.^=**

Loki stood over the man who's eye he had just removed, feeling nothing; he couldn't- this was just part of the process- collateral damage in this war.

However, 20 minutes later, he found himself..._restrategizing_ (he would never 'retreat'). He was without his scepter (that metal man had hit him with an energy blast and their Captain had maneuvered in and taken it) and now found himself in a tiny moving pod with a woman from the gathering. She had simply gotten in the way- he hadn't use her as a hostage- and as it turned out she lived in the building next to the one where the red and gold metal man lived and she could see his living quarters from hers.

She kept looking at him from the corner of her eye. Every few seconds she would take a breath and open her mouth to say something then clamp her lips together and swallow, other than that she stood perfectly still. Finally, Loki spoke.

"You look like a fish out of water, speak!"

She startled at the sudden sound but blurted out, "I'm trying think of how I can help-"

"Help?" he scoffed, cutting her off, "What makes you think I need help from a mortal like you? Why would you help me? I'm the 'bad guy'," he smirked.

"Growing up I was taught that everyone needs help sometime; a second chance- and back there- it just looked like you needed..." she trailed off when she glanced at him and saw him cock a brow.

He could sense what she was not saying. "It is too late to save me, besides, you are a weak human. One of them," he gestured vaguely in the direction they had come, "how could you possibly help? And again, 'why'? I have already crossed boundaries-"

"No one is past redemption-" she said quietly.

"And what of the man I killed in front of you? I held him down while I relished in his screams and the fear it caused you all. Does his death not faze you?" He asked, heatedly.

She swallowed visibly but her voice was steady, "We all make mistakes we regret and... the death toll is low; he was the only one-"

Loki thought over the last couple of nights, "That you know of," he growled just above a whisper. He turned quickly and grabbed her by the throat and pushed her to the back of the elevator, causing her to gasp and her eyes to widen.

He only used light pressure so she could still answer his forthcoming question. "Who said I regret what I did? What if you were to become another mistake, hm?" He lifted a shoulder in a disinterested half-shrug "What is to stop me from killing you here and now?" He could feel her pulse quicken under his thumb at his words and noticed her lips tremble in fear, but she held his gaze and answered him.

"Only your self. I am no match for your power," she squeezed her eyes shut for a moment when he smirked again and when she opened them, she kept them down, "but what you would gain from my demise? No one would see your deed- there is no one to prove your prowess to- except me," she added as an after thought.

Her clever use of guile and humility intrigued him and he slowly took stock of the woman in front of him. She did not speak like the others he had heard earlier. She had straight blonde hair that she wore in a sheet down her back, pale blue eyes that shone with something that stirred him in a way that he was unclear if he liked or not, and unlike most of the other women from that gathering, she wore a rather conservative full-length, flowing, pale blue gown that made her eyes glow. She had a decorum about her that was familiar and strangely comforting. He found himself drawn to her, a strange feeling in his chest he couldn't figure out. He loosened his hand and gently trailed it from her throat to her chin, urging her to look at him again so he could further study her. His eyes narrowed in contemplation when she merely stared calmly back. His lips thinned as the silence and seconds stretched before them. It seemed that the harder his face became, the more hers softened with- what was it? Something so familiar... He could feel his heart pounding in his chest, it gave a squeeze as he finally placed it- _compassion_. Her eyes shone with a compassion and hope that shook him to his core. His breath caught in his throat and it was his turn to swallow hard. He watched her eyes focus on his lips as they parted in a choked gasp. She bit her bottom lip and his attention snapped to her mouth. He groaned and dropped the hand holding her chin.

"L-Loki?" she said, her voice finally succumbing to a tremmer; clearly laced with fear.

He found he didn't like the sound of it coming from her and closed his eyes. "Are you alright?"

Was that concern? For him? He drew a shakey breath and braced himself on the back wall- trapping her between his arms. "I am every bit the sentimental fool as my miserable brother," he moaned as though having sentiment was a terrible thing to have.

Her breath hitched, causing him to look at her again- a flash of- was it guilt?- ran across his features and a single tear rolled down her cheek.

Raising a hand he brushed it away before leaning in until their lips were a breath away and said in a strangled whisper, "I won't hurt you, I can't," before closing the distance. Her lips parted in silent surprise as Loki's tentatively explored. He found he rather enjoyed the experience with this woman- this human. He grew more bold when he felt her kiss him back. Their lips tenderly danced together, pulling away for only a second before meeting again. He could feel her moving and stilled until he realized she was gingerly placing one hand on his chest while the the other stroked his cheek once, twice before sliding into his hair, her fingers curling into a gentle fist to pull him lower to her, deepening the kiss further still. Something broke inside him and a soft sound escaped him as he gave in to the new rush of emotions. He drew her fully against him- hands firm on her back. Her tongue stroked his bottom lip and his mouth opened in surprise at her boldness. She took advantage- encouraging him to mirror her actions. She pushed off the wall, intending to pin him to the opposite wall, but neither had noticed they had reached her floor at last, nor that the doors were open. Their breathing was ragged as they continued to move through a large studio area and through another door. His booted feet tripped on the edge of a huge, thick, white rug but steadied before his knees hit the edge of a large black metal-framed bed, topped with a dark green duvet. He sat down and she followed.

She kissed the corner of his mouth and pressed her cheek to his, whispering breathlessly in his ear as he kissed her jaw and neck, "You can be a great leader- one who rules with a gentle hand," she said as she found his and laced their fingers. He kissed his way across her throat up to her ear as she continued, "You don't have to rule with fear and ruthlessness, but wisdom and grace. That is what makes a memorable king. Save the people, use the power against those who threaten them and your subjects will be loyal."

He pulled away to meet her eyes, so full of hope. Could he change so easily? All these years of scheming just so-why? To please her? This human female he didn't even know? Why did it matter to him what she thought? What was happening to him? ...maybe she was a witch...

She squeezed their still-clasped fingers. He looked down at her small soft hand in his. He blinked slowly as he watched his long fingers stroke the back of her hand.

"Loki."

He did like the way she said his name, so often spoken with resentment and hate, but when she said it, it was... sweet. As if it tasted of honey when she spoke it.

"Loki," she repeated, touching his cheek again with a feather-light touch. He closed his eyes at the tenderness she showed him.

"What are you called?" He whispered, his voice rough.

"Hope."

His eyes snapped open and he gazed at her like she had amazed him. He shook his head with a small smile, feeling a lightness in his chest he hadn't felt since he was much younger, before their mouths found each other and the dance started again.


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: I'm not going to guarantee anything, but I'll try to flesh out my *Loki love* oneshot into... something… I'm trying to map out the bones of the story- even rented/watched Thor and The Avengers again (can't afford to see Thor 2 again, even for research) so I'm counting on the lame 'gist' I get from Wikipedia to refresh my memory. Bear with me; I know nothing about the Thor/Loki world except what I saw in the movies- this was only born from my celebrity crush on Tom, you know...

*sigh* Here goes nothing! …or rather, here goes some …thing… *Ace Ventura 2, when he's on the plane reenacting an old Twilight Zone episode? No? Shucks, guys, it's late and I'm just a tad loopy… on with it…

Loki's Chance: Chapter 2

Loki broke the kiss and slowly sat up. There- he could feel it- a small pull at his magic; it was just enough to make the small hairs on his neck stand on end. He hadn't felt it before...he had been...distracted, but now it seemed almost to prickle in its persistence.

"What's wrong?" asked Hope, also sitting up.

"I feel ...something," he said slowly.

Hope smiled somewhat shyly, "I know, I do, too. It's like we're being drawn together by something stronger than we are."

He turned and looked at her, a small smirk pulling at his lips "I agree, but I was referring to..." he closed his eyes and focused his magic to feel out where the pull was coming from. It was in this room. He held out his hand, palm up and pulled the thing to him. When he felt something cool and light land in his palm, he opened his eyes and looked down. "...this. What is this?" He asked.

Hope looked down at what he held; it was a necklace, a necklace she knew had been on her mirrored tray on the vanity on the other side of the room.

"How did you-" she started but he answered over her question.

"Magic, of course. Now, where did you get this?" he asked a little more urgently.

"I found it on a dig in New Mexico a few years ago. There had been something else there before I finally arrived, but the main part of the meteor was gone. It had left the strangest indentation- like a cube had fallen from space..." She trailed off and when she glanced at him, his eyes blinking rapidly, she shook herself. "Yes, anyway, I sifted through what felt like a mountain of dirt, soil, and debris and found this," she nodded to the dark-red, marble-sized, stone attached to the silver chain. "It was not native to the area, nor indeed to the planet as my research turned out. It wasn't radioactive or anything, but I could feel something coming from it- sometimes it would make the hairs on my arms and the back of my neck stand up, but it wasn't static electricity. I felt drawn to it, like it had been meant for me to find... so I kept it and had it made into a necklace. It's rare in the extreme- priceless- and I almost never take it off... I'm a meteoriticists," she explained at his unsure look. "That's what we call a scientist who studies meteors."

Loki looked at her for a minute before closing his eyes again and held his empty hand up, palm facing her, fingers loosely spread. Yes, now that he focused on it, he could feel the gentle pull of magic from her aura- wearing it almost non-stop for three years must have infused her aura with it. He scoffed internally at himself, thinking she was a witch that had lulled him- he opened his eyes to see her watching him curiously. She made no effort to make him talk; just patiently trusting him to share this new information when he was ready. He liked that.

"This tiny bit of meteor is even rarer than you realize," he said with a small smile of wonder. "It came from Asgard, my home realm when my, er... brother... was banished here. He landed in your New Mexico desert and so did his Mj- his weapon of choice- that is what left the curious indentation. This stone is full of magic but as it is so small, and your kind not being adept at recognizing it for what it is..." He trailed off when she slowly reached forward to place her hand over the necklace in his still-open palm. A golden glow came from the stone when they touched sending slow, gentle waves of magic up their arms. Loki watched as Hope smiled when the fine hairs on her arm rose, giving her goosebumps. He watched as a moment later she closed her eyes to enjoy the feelings of peace and calming washing slowly over them. He recognized the purity of this magic and accepted it into his own aura. He could feel the darkness that had been pulsing through his system for the longest time recede and fall to the light of the purifying magic. He closed his eyes and allowed it to completely overtake his aura; to cleanse him. It was an exhilarating, freeing thing.

The moment was shattered, however, when a roar and a crash came from the adjacent tower. Both Loki's and Hope's eyes flew open and they looked with shock across the way. Up a few stories through Hope's floor to ceiling windows they could see a hulking green...thing trying to destroy what Loki immediately recognized as his spear. The next thing they knew, the iron man came out of nowhere and began trying to pull the spear from the beast's grasp.

Loki paled; he knew that if they managed to destroy it, the energy force released could wipe out several of the top stories of- he saw the blazing sign: 'Stark'- the Stark tower and create a wormhole to anywhere in the nine realms. "I have to stop them, Hope," he said, thinking through his predicament, searching for the path that could achieve the best results with minimal further damage all around...it took him mere minutes to see the end goal and what strings that might have to be pulled and buttons pushed to get there- the counter-moves to possible deviations of his plan- like a chess master. He made his first move.

He ran out of the bedroom and down the short hall into the main living area. Glancing over he saw that Hope had a balcony and hurried forward to slide open the doors. Running to the very edge he agilely leapt onto the parapets and held out his hand to summon his weapon to him.

Hope had followed him but could feel an invisible wall preventing her from crossing the threshold and out onto the balcony. "Loki?" she called.

"I have to stop them, Hope," he repeated before the spear shot out of both of the fighting mens' hands and came hurtling into Loki's waiting one. It was almost comical; the looks on their faces when they saw where it had flown to, but Loki refrained from smiling so as not to appear taunting and instead stepped down and back from the edge. He kept the barrier between Hope and himself just in case there was any violence when the other two arrived. The green hulking beast roared again as he jumped from building to building to reach him- clearly intelligent conversation would not be had with this one, so Loki turned to the man of iron who, having landed, now held out his hand to stop the beast from further action as he had crashed down onto the balcony mere feet from Loki.

"Hold on, Hulk," he said.

_Fitting name_, thought Loki wryly, _and surely he doesn't call himself 'Ironman'! How unoriginal!_ He could feel the smirk flit across his face before he could help it and so spoke quickly.

"It would be detrimental to yourselves and the hundreds of people below if you were to succeed in destroying this," he said calmly, schooling his features once again.

"Your concern is noted," said the iron man dryly. "We promise not break your little spear thing, Scout's Honor," he said holding his hand up in what Loki could only assume was supposed to be a reassuring gesture. "Now give it," he said, holding his other hand out and taking a step forward.

"I mean you no harm," started Loki, but a rumble of thunder made him stop and flinch. The others only followed his gaze when he continued to stare up at the fast-approaching storm with growing dread. Lightening flashed in the distance.

"Afraid of a little lightening?" the iron man said snarkily.

"I am not overly fond of what follows," replied Loki as a nearby flash had him taking several quick steps back and spreading his free hand out to keep Hope back, even though she was still protected by his force field.

When he saw that Loki was shielding the woman behind him the iron man jerked his chin in her direction, "Who's the babe? Your hostage?"

"No!" shouted Hope, but Loki raised his hand.

"She is not," he spoke quickly, still eyeing the now darkened and rumbling sky. "As I said, I mean you no harm..._now_..." he watched as they looked at one another, clearly dubious. Loki tried again, now setting the spear down at their feet. "I'm unarmed, but even so," he eyed the sky again, "I'm afraid we're out of time." He looked over his shoulder to Hope. "Thank you, Hope. I-"

With a sudden crash, a man landed beside him and grabbed him by the throat. Loki saw the iron man raise a glowing hand but was quickly knocked on his back by a quick thrust of MjoInir before Thor spun it and they shot towards the clouds.


End file.
